Glenn’s convention speech

By Jeff Foust on 2004 July 29 at 7:31 pm ET

At the Democratic National Convention last night John Glenn was one of the speakers. His short speech mentioned space a number of times, but only in terms of past accomplishments or in a broader reference to the need to promote education and scientific research:

I am concerned about the erosion of America’s commitment to the twin pillars of our success in the 20th century — leadership in education, and leadership in scientific research… It was education and research that gave us new opportunities to study in this new and unique laboratory of space, and that helped America put my friend Neil Armstrong on the moon, and win the Cold War.

At NASA Watch Keith Cowing suggests that “that the topic of space might be on the cusp of actually being a campaign issue.” However, by reading Glenn’s speech, as well as past Kerry campaign material, it’s clear that it’s not space itself that’s a potential issue, it’s the broader investment in science and technology, and that’s an issue that is relatively minor compared to the economy, homeland security, and Iraq, among other far bigger issues.